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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132622
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 3:35pm | IP Logged | 1
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Ennui-engorged fans, many of whom apparently dwell in that curious and perplexing state of mind known as "Hollywood", have lately become obsessed with the question which forms my title. Hardly a superhero film comes along these days without elaborate -- and often contrived -- efforts being made to explain what has been, to generations of comicbook readers the most central and enquestioned trope of the superhero genre. But rather than asking "Why wear a costume", it seems we should more properly be asking "Why ask why?" Superheroes were born of a long tradition of costumed adventurers, capes and masks being found everywhere from the most serious literature to the most lurid potboilers. The more athletic demands put upon superheroes compelled their creators to look to real world examples of the best kind of dress for the job, and in so looking, they found acrobats in the circus, as well as the traditional garb of the sideshow strong-men. Out of these combinations of elements were born outfits that, to the intended readers -- kids, mostly -- were as natural as Tarzan's loincloth or Flash Gordon's tights. No one asked why the Phantom wore a purple leotard in the middle of the jungle. Or why Superman and Batman wore capes to fight crime. What ELSE would they wear? Which brings us to an important conclusion, I think. If you ask that question, why wear a costume, should you, perhaps, really be asking, "shouldn't I be looking for a different line of work?"
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Kevin Corcoran
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 08 July 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 150
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 4:21pm | IP Logged | 2
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That is a curious question, indeed - one that makes me curious about the questioner. Does their dress not vary according to the work they do, or to the social situations or functions in which they find themselves?
People historically have put on colors, as JB noted above, and when there is an additional shift in persona (as when I / Kevin don a tie and become "Mr. Corcoran" to my students,) both the wearer of said costume and the perceptions of those around him or her are affected accordingly.
It would not be surprising if this line of questioning had the ulterior motive of justify a change to (or eliminating entirely) an existing costume when developing a project.
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Greg Kirkman
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 May 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 15775
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 6:23pm | IP Logged | 3
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My mind boggles at the following:
Of most major superheroes, Spider-Man's reason for wearing a
costume is the most natural; he made a flashy outfit for his showbiz
career, and it then proved useful in concealing his identity when he
subsequently went into crimefighting.
Of course, the movies skipped this entirely, and the costume simply
came out of nowhere, after the appearance of the "for laughs",
homemade wrestling costume.
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Joe Zhang
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 12857
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 7:16pm | IP Logged | 4
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But these days superheroes spend a lot of time doing this:
A costume only gets in the way of navel-gazing.
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Jeff Stockwell
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1610
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 7:27pm | IP Logged | 5
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When all you do is sit around Avengers Mansion talking to each other, wearing a costume doesn't make a whole lot of sense. (Hell, in that case, wearing PANTS doesn't make much sense.)
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Robert Cosgrove
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 January 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1710
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 8:17pm | IP Logged | 6
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It's a question Stan and Jack essentially asked with Fantastic Four #1. It didn't take them long to move on . . .
One hero I very much enjoyed, who moved in the opposite direction from the FF, was Crossfire, by Mark Evanier and Dan Spiegle. I never enjoyed the character as much after he ditched the costume (but kept the mask). The book didn't last long after that, but I assume that sales were slipping and that this was an unsuccessful attempt at boosting them, but perhaps not; perhaps the creators felt the costume was getting in the way of the tales they wished to tell.
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Chris Rayman
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 162
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 8:19pm | IP Logged | 7
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I've always said, you'd never see in a million years, a director attached to a project like Lord Of The Rings say, "Well I think hobbits are dumb so I'm replacing those characters with lawyers. They'll wear sensible suits and carry briefcases because I think that's more realistic." Because why on earth would you hire a director who looks down on the source material???
Yet we've all heard so many times some variation of "We got rid of the costume because people don't dress like that." Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me that no one in the world in which your SUPERHERO story takes place dresses like a superhero???? You do realize this is fiction right, and that YOU create the rules of the world in which your story is set????
Edited by Chris Rayman on 25 April 2013 at 8:20pm
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Kevin Corcoran
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 08 July 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 150
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 8:46pm | IP Logged | 8
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Very apt image, Joe - I have never seen a more literal depiction of "navel gazing."
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Joe Zhang
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 12857
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 9:21pm | IP Logged | 9
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As you probably already know, it's from the latest Marvel event, Age of Ultron, which is getting rave reviews on the Internet. Seriously.
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James Revilla
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 03 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2266
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 10:02pm | IP Logged | 10
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Why do cops wear a uniform? I mean it just makes them targets. Sigh.
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James Revilla
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 03 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2266
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 10:03pm | IP Logged | 11
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Oh Chris I like it! One brief to rule them all!
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James Howell
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 23 September 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 363
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| Posted: 25 April 2013 at 10:22pm | IP Logged | 12
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Is Captain America..CRYING..over his broken shield in that panel?!?
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Topic Closed)
